Guidelines for the Operation of Self-Help Centers in California Trial Courts

Pilot Projects Under the Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act (AB 590 [Feuer]): Fact SheetCommencing in fiscal year 2011–2012, one or more pilot projects selected by the Judicial Council will be funded to provide representation to low-income parties on critical legal issues affecting basic human needs. The pilot projects will be operated by legal services nonprofit corporations working in collaboration with their local superior courts.

Guidelines for Self-Help CentersThe AOC, in collaboration with judges, court executive officers, attorneys, and other parties with demonstrated interest in services to self-represented litigants, is charged with the development of these guidelines for dissemination to the trial courts by March 2008 and thereafter to review them every three years.

Programs for Self-Represented Litigants: Fact SheetHighlights the accomplishments of the Task Force on Self-Represented Litigants, including the online Self-Help Center, the expanded use of family law facilitators, the Equal Access Fund, Family Law Information Centers, and self-represented litigant videos and publications.

California’s Court Self-Help Centers — Report to the Legislature (March 2007) The report describes self-help programs funded during fiscal year 2005–2006. It documents the expanded number of self-help centers throughout the state as well as the increased services provided by those centers. The report describes their collaborations with legal services agencies, as well as their plans for future expansion.

Model Self-Help Pilot Program: A Report to the Legislature (March 2005)This report presents the results of the evaluation of five pilot self-help centers that tested a variety of approaches to serving self-represented litigants, including collaborating to provide services across three small rural counties, developing ways to serve litigants with limited English proficiency, experimenting with different forms of technology to assist litigants, and coordinating existing services in a large urban area. The report documents the development and implementation of the projects and describes their impact on litigants and the court.